After the Iowa Supreme Court’s ruling last year declaring Iowa’s Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich declared that the ruling showed “judicial arrogance.” Then he predicted a major battle over judicial power. Yesterday, speaking to a group of pastors and church leaders in Des Moines, IA, Newt Gingrich highlighted the importance of the retention vote that Iowans have in November. Three of the Iowa Supreme Court justices (Chief Justice Marsha Ternus, Justice Michael Streit, and Justice David Baker) are up for retention, and the Iowa Constitution allows a retention vote every eight years for Supreme Court justices.

Gingrich said that Iowa is at “ground zero.” He said that Iowans can “turn out and vote no on the three judges who betrayed the people of Iowa.” He also said that there is “no better place to send a clarion call” to the left-wing legal secular elite.

In a Q&A session after his speech he was asked about how the Republican Party of Iowa unify after a bitter Gubernatorial primary, he said on issues, and then specifically stated “your vote on judges can be a unifying issue.” He said that is something all Republicans should be able to get behind.

I completely agree. As one of those in attendance I was glad that he highlighted this at the beginning of his speech, and while he touched on a variety of issues, this was a major theme which resonated. The courts do need to be held in check on not just the marriage issue, but also with any instance courts overstep their constitutional authority.

Speaker Gingrich was also asked if he thought it would make a difference, would the other side care? He noted that we’d likely see a different atmosphere the day after three justices are voted out. I’m sure we would as well.

Shane Vander Hart is the founder and editor-in-chief of Caffeinated Thoughts. He is also the President of 4:15 Communications, LLC, a social media & communications consulting/management firm. Prior to this Shane spent 20 years in youth ministry serving in church, parachurch, and school settings. He has also served as an interim pastor and is a sought after speaker and pulpit fill-in. Shane has been married to his wife Cheryl since 1993 and they have three kids. Shane and his family reside near Des Moines, IA.

About Shane Vander Hart

Shane Vander Hart is the founder and editor-in-chief of Caffeinated Thoughts. He is also the President of 4:15 Communications, LLC, a social media & communications consulting/management firm. Prior to this Shane spent 20 years in youth ministry serving in church, parachurch, and school settings. He has also served as an interim pastor and is a sought after speaker and pulpit fill-in. Shane has been married to his wife Cheryl since 1993 and they have three kids. Shane and his family reside near Des Moines, IA.

According to the Sept. 1995 Vanity Fair feature on Newt, when he was leading the family values crusade, speaking at Christian Coalition pastor’s conferences, etc., he was at the same time having oral sex with Anne Manning in hotel rooms. Manning told Vanity Fair, “We had oral sex. He prefers that modus operandi because then he can say, “I never slept with her.” In Washington this was already known as the “Newt defense” when Clinton later used it.

According to his former neighbor Kip Carter, Newt would engineer neighborhood family outings [football games] to end in such a way that he’d take another neighbor’s wife home. Carter caught one giving him oral sex in the passenger seat of his car.

According to a campaign staffer, “We would have won [his Congressional bid] in 1974 if we could have kept him out of the office, screwing [a young volunteer] on the desk.” His deplorable divorce of wife one [Jackie] is well known by most.

In 1994 coming to Barney Frank’s rescue after being “outed” Gingrich, whose sister is a lesbian and whose parents divorced when he was young, “warmly praised homosexuals in Congress for the “courage” they show by running for office,” wrote Alan Stang in his book Not Holier Than Thou.

Gingrich has been a serial sex fiend for years and has shown an arrogance in the past to lecture to Christian leaders while engaging in his debauchery. Methinks he should best spend the rest of his life in quiet solitude, working on his sanctification and restoring relationships, under the oversight of a God-fearing pastor. His public “repentance” on Dobson’s show a few years ago was very generalized. Certainly he doesn’t have to list the sordid details, but I’ve never heard him provide an accurate Biblical description of his sins, the frequency of them and his cry onto God for forgiveness. It all sounded so ‘political’.

I’m of the opinion he lost his authority to give public moral/political instruction to Iowa pastors. I prefer battle plans on Iowa Supreme Court jurists from other voices and, we need better political examples for young people.

I never read where Newt rebutted any of the Vanity Fair article nor of his former girl-friend (now one of his ex-wives) denying her hotel/oral sodomy quote. If he or she did, I will reconsider. But note I also quoted the unimpeachable Alan Stang on Ginrich’s defense of Barney Frank.

I never raised all of his ideas, just his qualification to be publicly lecturing to Pastors on moral/social issues and, I now note, his raising the specter of his Presidential bid…..again. And to that, I see we agree!